Thinking about becoming a foster parent but not sure where to start?

In this episode of Let’s Talk About Fostering, host Faye chats with Alison, a single foster parent with Foster Care Associates, about what it’s really like at the very beginning of your fostering journey.

Alison has been fostering teenagers since 2017. She talks honestly about leaving her job after 32 years, going through the assessment and panel process, the training, and what it felt like to welcome a young person into her home for the very first time.

In this episode, we cover:

- What to think about if you’re right at the start of your fostering journey

- Why you don’t have to fit a “perfect” mould to foster

- The reality of the assessment and panel process

- What training looks like – and why you don’t need experience to begin

- How it feels to say yes to your first foster child

- The importance of support networks and community for foster carers

- Why teenagers in care need understanding, empathy and playfulness

Welcome to the very first episode of Let’s Talk About Fostering — the podcast from the Polaris Community, hosted by Faye.

In this episode, Faye is joined by Polaris CEO Jo August, who has 35+ years’ experience working across children’s services — and who also grew up in a fostering household. Jo shares her journey into social care, explains what Polaris does across fostering, residential care, schools and adoption, and challenges common misconceptions about foster care and children in care.

We also talk about:

- Why Jo prefers the term “foster parent” over “foster carer”

- The real impact of foster care (beyond the simplified definitions)

- Why outcomes in foster care aren’t always “headline” moments — and why small wins matter

- How to support children who foster (birth children in fostering households)

- The qualities that help foster parents thrive: emotional intelligence and resilience